Post Death Decisions
by ChanelCola
Summary: "She shouldn't want him. Shouldn't love him. Then again she always did things she shouldn't." Tate/Violet fan fiction set post AHS finale.
1. In my head

Raining.

Pouring, actually.

These were the nights Violet looked forward to. Though she never new when they would come. She had no way to find out being dead and all. The bills weren't being payed, so the cable was soon cut off. No more weather channel. It didn't bug her all that much. She was never a television person in life or death. But lately she sort of missed normal things like that. She longed for a normal life. A free life. Now more than ever. She didn't understand why she could't have it.

It had been four long, uneventful years since she had died. It felt like 30. She had nothing to do most of the time. When she was alive she had Tate, her parents, and even Leah to go to. But now her parents were so focused on each other or on their dead ghost baby that they never even payed attention to violet. She didn't mind as much as she thought she would given that they made her want to blow her own brains out half the time. Leah was now out of the picture considering the fact she couldn't leave the damn house. She always wondered what people thought about her now. Maybe they thought she ran away. Maybe they thought she was so crazy that her parents put her in a mental hospital. She wouldn't be shocked if that was in fact what they thought. She always came off kind of crazy, she thought. Especially when she spit in Leah's face and burned her hand with a just lit cigarette butt in the cafeteria. She didn't know why she thought about these things. After all she didn't give two fucks what they thought. And it didn't matter now that she was dead.

There was always the other ghosts to keep her company, but who was she kidding. Hayden was the last person she wanted to talk to given it was her fault she moved into this shit hole in the first place. She had yet to talk to her because she knew she wouldn't be able to control the violent yelling that would fall from her lips at the first sight of the crazy bitch. In life she wanted Hayden dead. In death she considered this. She would just heal and be good as new in minutes, she knew this. It would still give her a reprieve from the anger she had towards her, though. She decided Hayden wasn't worth her time.

Chad wasn't bad company, but he usually just sat and rambled on about Pat and how fucked up their marriage was. _Is_. She sort of felt bad for him sometimes. After all, he never did anything wrong and still got stuck here like the rest of us. All he ever wanted was for Pat to love him. Isn't that all anyone wants? For someone to love them? She knew how he felt. She didn't fuck up like the rest of the ghosts yet she was damned in this house for the rest of eternity, and for what? Love? That was complete bullshit to her now. Or so she wanted it to be.

She was never really close with Larry's family. She felt bad for them, but in all honesty she just couldn't bare to look at how sad they looked all the time. Burnt, mangled skin and fresh tears threatening to fall from their cataract covered eyes. Larry had a matching one that Tate had given him, but it didn't scare her as much as they did. It all felt real when she saw them.

Sometimes she talked to Travis out of curiosity. She wanted to know what his life was like. If he really deserved to be here like the rest of them. So far, he didn't. Which was screwed up. She always thought you died and went somewhere better. If she had known she would be stuck In the same house at the same age for forever, she may have thought twice before swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills. Damn was she stupid. What a pathetic way to die.

Then there was Tate. Tate Langdon. The boy she had fallen deeply in love with faster than she thought humanly possible, especially for her. She remembered the feelings that bubbled up inside her stomach the first time she saw him. How incredibly attractive yet surprisingly frightening he looked right there in front of her. He wore jeans and a green and brown striped shirt. The kind of outfit you wear when your just outright begging to be bullied these days. It was perfect to her though. Fuck society's image of an acceptable outfit. His tousled, blonde hair suited his appearance perfectly along with his eyes. So brown that she would swear they were black. They tore into her insides and she thought that if she looked down, she would see cuts and bruises and tear stains and blood all over herself as if he had stripped away her shell and brought her true inner feelings and emotions to the surface. She had never stared into such beauty before in her life. She was never one to date or get involved with guys, especially ones from her school. But in that moment, looking at him, she forgot everything she had ever once told herself about boys and relationships. He was different than all the horny douche bags that inhabited her school, she could tell.

She didn't even know his name yet and had only seen him for less than a minute before deciding that she had to know him. Had to figure out what is was about him that attracted her so much. So much that despite his odd advice about how she should and shouldn't try to kill herself, she invited him up to her room the following week. She knew that wasn't a good idea. Being in her house meant he was one of her dad's patients which also meant that he was screwed up. But she already knew that from the first moment she laid eyes on him. If that mattered to her she wouldn't be walking up the stairs with him headed to her bedroom. She contemplated that for a minute. The fact that a complete stranger who needed therapy and raddled off tips to her on how she should off herself was about to enter her room. Her sanctuary. She rarely let anyone enter her room. He was lucky then, she thought. Didn't know why yet, but she was more than determined to find out.

She fell deeper and deeper in love with him with every kiss and kind gesture he made. The first one being his rough calloused hands against her soft, gashed wrists. They had talked about their cut scars before this. She didn't mind sharing the stories that belonged to each one. The miscarriage, moving, her first day at her new school. They weren't exactly a secret. But nobody had ever touched them before. To her that was a violation of privacy and personal space but for some reason she didn't object. She didn't move. Didn't say anything. She just sat there wide eyed and paralyzed while he stroked them as if trying to remove the bad memories that each one held. She was in shock. She found it strangely comforting though when he started to speak.

He only said two words. "_I'm sorry_." Although short, his statement made her cringe. No one had ever seen these things before let alone _apologized_ to her for the things that made her so accepted his words but didn't let him know that. She didn't think he had earned that much from her yet. Instead she got up quicker than she had planned and made her way across the room to turn on her iPod hoping to diffuse the awkward tension that came after she left his statement in the air without a response. She knew that would probably be considered rude, but he didn't look bothered by it. Actually he didn't look like anything at all. She couldn't read him. Sense his current feelings. She was normally really good at reading people for the most part, but not him. She got absolutely nothing. His poker face was starting to agitate her so she decided to change the subject to music which quickly led to a full blown conversation about how obsessed he was with nirvana and all things Kurt Cobain. Each little detail he revealed about himself reeled her in closer and closer to him. Good taste in music: Check. Big heart: Check. Dimples: Check.

The sounds of rain pattering against the roof shook violet from her daze. She held her hand lightly to her forehead as she stood up; dizzy and tired. Lately she looked to booze and cigarettes to drown her sorrows, but the hangovers lasted longer in death and she was getting sick of the constant headaches and nausea she felt the day after. She hadn't touched a cigarette or a bottle of alcohol in days, though. So, she concluded that her dizziness and headaches were signs of withdraws. She laughed out loud for a second at the thought of how she could be possibly having _death _withdraws. She always found it fascinating all the feelings you still had after you died. How real everything still felt. She felt a craving for a smoke coming on and decided she would go down stairs and take some cigarettes rom her dad's office. Usually she kept her own pack in her room, but her last one was gone in a day and a half so she decided she would steal some. It wasn't like her dad really smoked anyway. He wouldn't notice they were gone and even if he did she doubted that he would care at this point. It wasn't like she could die from lung cancer or anything.

She tugged open the top drawer of her Dad's cabinet where he kept his untouched stash. She was only going to take a few but decided on the whole pack so she wouldn't have to make a second trip down tomorrow. The less chances of running into Tate the better.

She was about to close the drawer and head back upstairs when something caught her attention. A manilla colored file folder with a Label on the top that read "Tate Langdon". Tate's patient file. She was more than tempted to read it right there out in the open, but thought it best to bring it back to the privacy of her room. She quickly hurried back up the stairs tiptoeing so no one would notice her. She wasn't in the mood for a mid hallway chat at the moment, especially with Tate's file in hand. That would sure stir up an interesting conversation.

After what felt like hours she finally picked up the folder off her desk. She wanted to know what he talked about. What he thought about during his sessions. It intrigued her, though she didn't know why. She slowly opened it and pulled the first paper out and began reading. It was stuff she already knew about, except Tate had said they were all dreams. She wished they were dreams. But no, they were reality. She half grinned when she read the part about her. How he thought about her to make his bad visions go away. How sweet and utterly disgusting that was all at the same time. Her grin faded into a fresh snarl. How dare he use her to get himself through his toughest times. The times he relived the moments he murdered innocent children. She started to feel sick. Really sick. She shoved the paper back inside the folder and threw it as hard as she could against the wall. The papers scattered everywhere all over the floor. She sat on her bed with her knees pressed tightly against her chest; her head down between them. She started to cry. Harder and harder every time a new memory of him popped triumphantly into her brain. Her sick and twisted mind that just loved all the darkness that was Tate Langdon.

She cried for hours until she had no more tears left. She sobbed and gagged and kicked her feet in fits. She knew it wouldn't make her feel better, but being still would make her feel worse. She was angry more than sad. Not at him, though she should be. But at the fact that she wanted him. She shouldn't want him. Shouldn't love him. Then again she always did things she shouldn't. She knew no one would come to comfort her. She knew that nobody dared to go near her anymore. They wanted no part in her grieving. The fact that no one besides Tate could make her feel happy made her even more sick and she ran to the bathroom just in time before vomiting in the sink.

She stood with her head facing down towards the sink just staring at the drain. After a few minutes she slowly raised her head and looked up at herself in the mirror. She almost puked again. She looked like complete shit. She looked like death. How _ironic._ Her cheeks were sucked slightly into her skull, and when she lifted her shirt you could see her ribs and hip bones jutting out towards her skin. She had nothing but skin and bones left. She looked terrible and she felt terrible. She had enough of herself for one day and slowly turned her back to the mirror and walked into her room. She changed into a baggy T- shirt and shorts and made her way to the windowsill to watch the rain fall outside, stepping all over Tate's patient file papers as she walked. She would probably burn them tomorrow.

She pulled the zippo from her bag and admired the zipping sound it made when she twisted the nob on the side to expose the fire. Before she ever even smoked she loved playing with her friends lighters. She used to carry one around for no particular reason at all just because she liked it. This made her think of Tate and how he carried one around to. He didn't smoke but she did, and that was the only reason he kept it. She pushed the thought from her mind and lit her first cigarette hoping it would make her forget about all the memories that had come flooding back to her today.

After three cigarettes she figured she would give herself a break and try to sleep. That was what she did most days now because it was her only escape from the horrible hell hole she was stuck in. She still dreamt when she slept. That scared her though for fear of _his_ face showing up in one. She had gotten lucky so far as to not dream about him. If she did she probably would cry for a week straight. She didn't know if they would be sad tears or angry tears or both. But, tonight when she dreamt, she didn't get so lucky.


	2. Darkness in the flesh

His happiness became a curse. He knew it was too good to be true. When Violet came into his life, or death for that matter, everything changed in Tate's mind. When he was with her, he no longer thought about the horrible things that usually camped out in his sick mind. Shooting. Stabbing. Raping. _Killing_. She made him a different person. He had hope for himself when he was by her side. He loved absolutely everything about her. How she didn't give a fuck what anyone thought of her and her outdated clothes. Her taste in music. Her strength. Her sensitivity. How her soft blond hair bounced when she walked. How she blushed and pursed her lips when she got nervous around him. Her fearlessness. He knew she got scared, but she would never admit that to him or anyone for that matter; that was something he admired.

He knew she was curious to know about his past. It was only fair because he had dug into hers. But her past was pure. Kind. Good. Despite the shit her dad did to her family. His past on the other hand, he thought would send her off running and screaming. That was the last thing he wanted to happen. In fact, after a few weeks with her, Tate couldn't bare to think of losing her. Didn't want to know the pain that came with being without her. Too bad. He was feeling it now.

It was mostly emotional pain. He tried so hard not to give himself over to the darkness. He wanted her back, and if he did more stupid shit it would just make the whole that was in between them bigger. They would drift farther and farther apart until they didn't even remember each other's names. Well, he would remember her's. He could never forget anything about her. But she, on the other hand, probably already started to forget.

That idea was what made Tate sick. He spent his time drinking and punching the basement walls until his hands came away bloody and crushed. He loved the pain. It made him feel alive again. When they healed he would just do it again. And again. And again until he couldn't take it anymore. At that point he would drink until he passed out and wouldn't wake up for days. That was the only time he slept. Unlike her, he didn't dream. He couldn't remember the last time he did. Usually he didn't mind this, but after violet sent him away, his biggest wish was just one more dream with her in it. If he couldn't have her in person. In his dreams would have to do.

Hayden tried to talk to him sometimes. He mostly ignored her, but today was different. He was desperate for company. It had been so long since he talked to someone that he was starting to forget what his own voice sounded like. The only thing that every came out of him was screams and sobs. He never talked.

They sat in the basement talking and drinking for hours until she decided it was time for her to go mess with Hugo or Travis. He thought them hanging out would have made him feel better. But it only made him think of how him and Violet used to hangout up in the attic when things were still good. He soon realized that nothing would make him feel better. Only her. She was the only thing that could make him happy again.

He contemplated appearing to her at least ten times before deciding not to. It would probably either freak her out or make her angry. Either way it would end the same way. With those three famous yet unattractive words. "_Go Away Tate." _He had heard them before from her, and couldn't bare to hear them again. This didn't stop him from watching her, though. He would sit in her room for what seemed like hours crying along side her without her even knowing it. It made him feel better sometimes because he could almost pretend like she knew he was there and was letting him cry with her. After a few months he stopped doing it because he was getting more and more tempted to comfort her, but he knew that was not a good idea.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that he got his chance to actually see her. He knew he needed to take it.

He heard her scream. So loud that Tate would swear the whole block could most likely hear it. He shot up from the basement floor and racked his brain thinking of a reason she could possibly be screaming like that. He had never heard her scream before. Only cry. He wanted nothing more than to run into her room and hug and kiss her until all the problems they ever had were just old memories; forgotten. He knew he couldn't do that though, she would never let him do it.

He materialized into the hallway just outside her door, making sure to keep himself invisible incase someone had the same idea he did. Turns out Vivien did. She ran straight past him and right into her room. His heart beat sped up to ten times its normal speed when she passed him. He felt tears threatening to spill at the thought of what he had done to her. He had never even talked to Vivien before, but he had always wanted to apologize to her. Tell her how much he wishes he could take every horrible thing back that he had done. Tell her how sorry he was and beg for her to see how much he meant it. He never did though, because he knew it wouldn't do much good. She left the door cracked and he saw his opportunity. He walked through the threshold of her room quietly because even though he couldn't be seen, he could still be heard if he wasn't careful.

There she was. Sitting in her bed sobbing and screaming right before his eyes. Despite the tear stains on her cheeks, she looked just as beautiful as she did the last time he saw her. Even her hair, which was messy from sleep, looked amazing to him. All honey blonde colored and soft. Her eyes were swollen red from crying and he couldn't help but think that it was his fault. She was _sad_ because of him. _Lonely _because of him. _Dead_ because of him. It took everything inside of him not to cry. He couldn't cry, not now. He stood motionless for a minute just staring at her. He took it all in and when she finally stopped screaming, he took a few steps closer to her bed to hear their conversation.

She had dreamt of him. It had made her cry. It had made her _scream. _He wanted to know wether it was because she missed him and wanted him back, or because she was afraid of the Tate that showed up in her dream. He desperately hoped it was because she missed him. He saw the look of relief that overcame her face when her mother hugged her. It made him happy for a split second. He was glad that something could make her feel safe again. His happiness quickly faded when he remembered why he had come up here.

After her mother left, Tate knew he couldn't leave now. Not without talking to her. Not without hearing her voice again even if it was just her sending him away. He decided to chance it. He appeared to her at the foot of her bed. Just standing there unmoving and silent waiting for her response. The minute she laid eyes on him, though, he started to regret everything he had just done.


	3. Author's Note

Hey guys just to let you know the chapters switch off between Tate and violet's sort of perspective in the beginning of this fanfiction. So for example, chapter three will take place straight after chapter one Because chapter two will be a Tate chapter :) When they no longer do this, I will do another author's note just so you guys don't get confused :) Hope you are enjoying this :) Please favorite this if you like it and write a review. If you have suggestions please let me know!


	4. In my dreams

Violet woke up in a startle. As she processed what she had just dreamt about, she threw her arms around herself and started to sob and gasp for air. She felt like someone had just punched her straight in the stomach. It finally happened to her. Her nightmares came true. Literally. She dreamt about him. It was so vivid that until she woke up she could have sworn that was the closest thing she had ever felt to reality since she had died.

Her mom came rushing to her bedside in seconds. Odd. She didn't know why she had picked now to comfort her forgotten daughter. She then realized she only came because violet had been screaming bloody murder. She hadn't meant to, but she couldn't help herself because she had just _dreamt _of _him._

"Violet! Violet, hey look at me!" Vivien was trying and failing to get her attention.

"Violet stop screaming. Violet it's okay. You're going to be okay!"

Suddenly Vivien's voice made it's way to her and Violet darted her eyes towards her mom in shock.

"What happened Violet. Talk to me, please."

She just stared at her mom. She didn't know wether or not it was a good idea to tell her about the dream she had just experienced. Also, she hadn't seen her mom's face or heard her voice in three years. It was still kind like she remembered.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry mom I didn't mean to scream I just. I just..."

she couldn't even finish her sentence before she broke out into more hysteric cries. Her mother's hands quickly found her daughters waist and pulled her into a hug. Violet calmed down and snuggled her head into her mother's neck. She hadn't realized how much she missed her mom until that moment. Her mom was warm and loving and smelled like vanilla. She could have stayed like that for ages. This, she decided, was the safest she had felt in years. After a few moments Violet pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her T-shirt.

"Was he there? In your dream...? Is that why you're crying." She asked in a sympathetic tone.

Violet hesitated. She knew Tate was a sore subject with her mom.

"It's okay Violet. You can talk to me about him. I've gotten past it."

She really doubted that. You can't really ever get over someone raping you and impregnating you with a demonic baby. Her words made Violet feel somewhat better, though.

"Yeah." She paused for a moment to regroup before continuing in a less shaky voice.

"It's the first one I've had of him since…you know." Violet stared at her hands. She couldn't look her mom in the eye.

"I went so long without dreaming of him. almost four years. To be honest I thought I never would. It was so horrible mom." Her tears came rushing back faster than before.

"Look. I know you want to hate him Violet. I appreciate that you let him go for me, but It kills me to see you like this. You never leave this room and don't think I don't see the dozens of empty liquor bottles piling up in the backyard." She retorted as kindly as possible. She knew violet couldn't be yelled at in this state.

Wow. Her mom payed more attention than she thought.

"You never come to see me anymore. Neither does dad. I figured you guys wouldn't care. I figured you guys wouldn't notice..." Her voice trailed off at the end. She was hurt, and her mom could tell.

"The only reason we have kept our distance from you is because that's what we thought was best for you. We thought that's what you would have wanted. You never talk to us about your problems so we figured that wouldn't change. And I can't stand to see you sit there and cry and grieve every day knowing that there is nothing I can do to fix it. Nothing i can do to make you happy again."

Violet could sense a look of guilt in her mom's eyes and intervened before she could say anything else. She didn't want her mom to feel bad for her. Sorry for her. She deserved to be happy. She didn't deserve to be dragged into the hell violet was living in.

"It's okay mom. I'm fine. I promise. I'll get through it, It's just going to take some time."

"I know that you aren't okay. I realize now that I was wrong, Violet. I'm so sorry that It took me this long to come to you. If you ever need someone I'm right down the hall, always."

"I know. Thanks mom. I love you so much. Tell dad I said I love him too."

"Of course sweetheart. Can I get you anything?"

"No, that's okay. Thanks though." She said, smiling up at her mom the best she could. She knew her mom wouldn't buy it, but it was a nice gesture.

With that, Vivien kissed Violet on the forehead and paced out of the room. She was glad for that. She wanted to be alone right now.

Her solitude didn't last long, though.


	5. The Plan

Violet could not believe her eyes. At first she thought that maybe she was still dreaming. That her mom coming to see her was all just a hallucination. That him showing up was just the next phase in her dream before she was allowed to wake up. She blinked a couple of times before looking back up at him. He was just standing there at the foot of her bed. They weren't in touching distance, but this was too close. This was the first time she had seen his face in four whole years. He didn't even make the first move. He expected her to respond to his idiotic plan first.

Violet was furious. She was so angry that you could practically see the steam rising from her body. At the same time though, she was still feeling confused and forlorn after the morning she had just had.

All these feelings and emotions were bottled up inside her. She was conflicted. Part of her was saying '_Just talk to him. Maybe he has a good explanation as to why he did all those things. You can forgive him. You know you want to.' _But a bigger part of her was telling her '_No. Don't give in. He did so many unforgivable things to you and your family. You would be weak to give in to him. That's what he does. He manipulates people. He will do it again. He will hurt you again. He will break you again.' _

She hadn't realized how long she had been staring at him. She felt dizzy again, like she could either pass out or throw up all of her insides. Both of those things sounded more appealing than having a conversation with him.

"If you came here to comfort me, save it Tate. Your the last person in this house that I want near me right now," She said. Her tone was harsh. Her face was blank. Emotionless.

He didn't look surprised. After all, he didn't think their first encounter was going to go over well. He was prepared for this, though.

"I know you don't want to see me Violet. I know that you hate me and that you probably wish I didn't exist. I get that. You have every right to feel that way. But please, just tell me why you were screaming. I know it was because you dreamt about me, but what happened? I really need to know Violet." He was outright begging to her. Pathetic, but he didn't care.

"Why? Why would I sit here and explain my worst nightmare to you. You don't get to just walk in here and demand answers and expect me to hand them over like I owe them to you. I know you used to be in control. When I was alive and naïve. But I'm different now. I'm in control. You don't get to control me Tate. Not anymore. So why don't you do yourself a favor and leave. Because you won't find what your so desperately looking for here."

"Your were crying Violet. Please, just tell me what happened in your dream so I can fix it. Please."

She was not about to give into him. She was not about to show him that she was hurt. She wiped her tear stained cheeks and waited a few seconds to regroup her feelings. She took a deep breath and started again. Her voice no longer shaky and vulnerable, but strong and forceful.

"Did you not hear a word I just said Tate? You won't get anything from me. So go. Just leave."

He was surprised that she hadn't sent him away yet. He knew she couldn't. He just _knew_ that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She wouldn't admit it to him, but he knew how to get her to open up.

"This all seems so easy to you, Violet. I never hear you cry. You never tried to come see me. I got nothing from you. Did our relationship mean nothing to you? Did you even love me?" He knew the answers to all of those questions, and the part about never hearing her cry was a lie. That's practically all he ever heard anymore. But, this was the only way to get to her.

She was taken aback at his response. What in the hell was he talking about?

He continued now with tears in his eyes, "I loved you. I meant it when I told you I cared about you more than myself. I meant it when I said I would never let anybody or anything hurt you. And I sure as hell meant it when I told you that I loved you."

Her head was spinning. This was not the response she had expected from him. She was angry but with him standing there all hurt and broken looking, she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She had no clue why he suddenly thought these things. Did he really think she never loved him? The words he had just said reminded her of the day he told her he loved her. That was the day she died without even knowing it. With that thought in mind she completely lost it.

"Easy?" She laughed and looked him straight in the eyes. All the pity she felt before was gone. "You think these last four years without you have been..EASY?" She was yelling now. "I can't believe you would even say those things to me, Tate. I loved you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. You made me happy. When I was with you, I forgot about all the shit that was going on around me. I forgot about the fact that my dad had cheated on my mom with some college skank. I forgot that my mom was pregnant with twins despite the fact she had a miscarriage. I forgot about school and all the bullshit that came along with it. But most of all, I forgot that I was alone. Because I wasn't anymore. You made me so happy, Tate. So if you think leaving you was easy, you have it all wrong. This is anything but easy."

Bingo. His plan worked. She still loved him, he could tell. He was going to get her back. It was going to take a little more than that, but he would do it. He would do absolutely anything for her.

Without giving her a response, he vanished into the basement. He knew that would piss her off. His plan was going great. The next step was to get her down there too.

She had just poured out all her feelings for him to his face and what does he do? He disappears. He fucking disappears to god knows where in this house. She knows, though. He went to the basement. That was his home. She was still so angry. She was not going to let him just leave her like that.

She slipped out of bed and threw on some clothes. She was feeling lazy. Her outfit consisted of leggings, a black dress with a blue sweater over top, and her six year old ragged converse. She brushed through her hair and washed the tear stains from her face in the sink. She was going to confront him. She couldn't look like she was still crying.

She hopped down the stairs, skipping two with every step. She was glad she hadn't run into anyone yet. If she did her current anger might cause her to punch them in the face or something. She didn't know what she would do exactly, but she just knew it wouldn't go down well.

When she reached the basement door, she took a deep breath before twisting the handle. The door opened loudly with a screech. She wanted everyone in the basement to know not to mess with her right now. She stepped onto the first step and slammed the door shut behind her. If they didn't get the message yet, they soon would.

Tate knew it was her heading down the basement stairs when he heard the door slam. No one else got mad enough these days to do something like that. His plan was working, she was coming down to the basement right now. He wasn't sure what he was going to say yet, but he was sure the perfect words would come to him when he saw her face.


	6. Forgive the monster

Violet was down the basement stairs in seconds. Tate could tell she was really pissed off about what he had just done.

"Seriously Tate, what the fuck was that?" Okay. Maybe she was more than pissed off.

"You told me I should Leave. So I did. I thought that's what you wanted?" He was playing stupid with her, and it was making her livid.

"You're a real asshole you know that?" Yes. He knew that. "Yes, I told you to leave. But that was before I poured my heart out to you. I thought you would appreciate the things I had to say. But you just left. You didn't even respond you just fucking left Tate! Do you even care about my feelings for you? Huh?" She was starting to feel better. Yelling at him was blowing off some of her steam.

"Of course I care Violet. I love you. I know I did terrible things to you, but I in the end I lost you. It's hard for me too."

She decided to stop talking about negative things and start talking about what she was saying earlier before he so rudely left right in the middle of her heartfelt speech.

"You think this is only hard for you? Well you thought wrong. It takes everything inside of me not to run into your arms and forget everything we ever went through, Tate. It literally hurts me to not be around you. I cry myself to sleep every single night. I lay there and I can't help but think how much happier I would be if you were laying there next to me." She was rambling but she couldn't help herself. All these thoughts had been stuck in her head for years and it just felt too good to stop.

"I learned that I'm strong. Because if I wasn't strong we would have already been back together. I'm getting weaker though, you know that? Every day I get more and more tempted to come back to you." She still couldn't believe she was basically giving herself to him.

"I didn't know you still felt that way about me. If you wanted me back this whole time, why would you continue to let me suffer? Why would you continue to let yourself suffer violet? It's been four years. I've apologized to everyone, including you, so many times. More than I can count. I know what I did in the past was horrible. I understand why you sent me away. But let's face it, we both love each other Violet. You deserve to be happy. If I'm what makes you happy, then please let me help you. I love you so much and I can't stand to be without you anymore."

"No. No, you don't get to decide this for me. Don't act like you have everything figured out because you don't and It's not that easy okay?"

At this point violet couldn't help herself. She threw herself at him and started punching his chest with as much force as she could. She wanted him to feel pain. To know how she felt.

"Feel that?" She punched him straight in the stomach so hard that it knocked the wind right out of him. He leaned over wrapping both arms tightly around his stomach so he wouldn't fall over from lack of oxygen.

"That's what I felt like this morning when I woke up. I felt like someone punched me in the stomach. It hurts doesn't It?"

She proceeded by kicking him in the shins. He fell with a thud holding his shins while he laid on the cold floor. He wouldn't fight back. She deserved to punish him, and he deserved to be punished.

She waited for him to catch his breath and make it to his feet before slapping him hard across his face. It stung her hand, and she bit back tears.

"Violet, please-"

"Don't. You don't get to talk!"

She raised a fist and punched him in the chest over and over until her hands got tired, talking in between punches and sobs.

"You hurt me Tate!" She cried.

"You broke me!" She continued punching.

She stopped with a final punch to his chest. She left her hand resting there, she didn't want to move her fist from his body. She was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. Tate didn't hesitate before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a tight hug. He rubbed up and down the small of her back for comfort. He wanted her to know it was okay, the decision she just made.

"Shhhh. It's going to be okay Violet. It's okay." He placed a light kiss to the top of her head.

"Tate I-"

"I know." He said. And he did. She had given up torturing the both of them. She had finally given them both what they wanted. Each other.

After several minutes of crying into Tate's shoulder, Violet could barely keep her eyes open. All the crying and screaming from that day was getting to her and she was more than exhausted. Tate basically read her mind. She didn't even tell him she was tired. He could just tell. He placed one more kiss to her forehead and picked her up bride and groom style to take her up to her room. She didn't object. She wrapped her arms around his neck making it easier for him to carry her. She knew where he was taking her, and she had missed the feeling of their bodies pressed together.

Once in her room, Tate laid violet down on her bed and slipped off her shoes. He didn't want to leave her alone, so he slipped of his own shoes and crawled in next to her. Violet, who was still half conscious, pulled the blanket up over the two of them and snuggled into his chest. Tate took this as an 'okay' and wrapped his arms around violet and closed his eyes. This was the happiest he had been in four years. Yes, he loved all the sexual things that happened between the two of them. But even these small gestures, like sleeping together, made him just as happy.


	7. Normal for once

Violet woke up peacefully the next morning. For once there was no screaming or crying like there normally was. She had awoken from such a deep sleep that she totally forgot the events of the previous day until her eyes grew fixed on Tate who was dead asleep next to her. He looked peaceful too. She knew he rarely slept, so she was glad he was finally getting a break. His clothes were still on; thank god. As much as she wanted to go that far with Tate again, she was thankful they hadn't picked last night to do it. She wasn't in her right mind yet, so she felt that the best option was to wait. That was going to be hard.

She was still conflicted. She didn't know whether or not she had made the right decision to forgive Tate. She lay silent in bed for several minutes just thinking. She shouldn't feel guilty for wanting him. If he made her happy, then who cares what anyone else thought? Her parents had basically forgotten about her, so she didn't care what they might have to say about it. They were the only people who wouldn't like her being with Tate; none of the other ghosts cared. She finally came to the conclusion that she would just let herself be happy. She deserved that. After all, four years is a long time to punish yourself.

Even after deciding this though, she couldn't help but feel a little strange. She knew it was already fucked up to date a dead teenager who was a ghost stuck in her house. But to learn that the same dead teenager she hooked up with shot fifteen people at school, killed the gay couple who happened to live in this house before her, and raped her mother to give his ghost mom the baby and still want to be with him seemed like a new low for her. She pushed these thoughts aside and decided that she didn't care how fucked up _that_ was and she didn't care how fucked up _she_ was. Every single one of the ghosts in the murder house have done things they regret in their lives. Why should Tate be the only one to get punished?

Hayden slept with a married man that ended up getting her pregnant. Hugo cheated on his wife with the house maid, Moira. Charles and Nora set up a strange clinic for the stars that resulted in the kidnapping, death, and rebirth of their baby. And let's not forget Larry's wife who burned herself and her children alive after receiving knowledge of her husbands affair with Constance. Who does that? She has no room to judge though. She fell for a dead, psychotic, mother raping, child murdering, teenage boy. And if that's not enough, she overdosed on sleeping pills and killed herself when she found out all the things he did. Wow, the more times she says that to herself the more idiotic she feels.

She saw that Tate's eyes were moving under his lids. He was dreaming. She wanted to know what about. Her maybe? Death came with a lot of cool tricks, but unfortunately mind reading wasn't one of them. Bummer. She hoped it was a good dream, though. She was starting to feel really guilty about what she made him go through. Despite the terrible things he did, he punished himself more than necessary. And even if she said she had hated him, she really hadn't. She still couldn't stand to see him hurt. Except for at the beginning, when she first sent him away. Those first few months she could care less what happened to him. She had every right to hate him. But, as time went on, her feelings for him came back. They came back even stronger than they had appeared the first time. That's when she started to feel weak. That's when she mentally decided she was eventually going to forgive him. Tate couldn't have picked a better time to appear to her than when he did. Because by the time he did, she had already forgiven him. She just had to say the words.

She had drifted off back into a deep slumber during her thoughts and was startled awake at the feeling of a hand on her thigh. It was his. Obviously. He was tracing meaningless shapes on her skin with his finger. This made her shiver and open her eyes slightly to see if he was awake and aware of what he was doing. He was. He was staring at her; smiling. She opened her eyes the rest of the way and smiled back at him. Things almost seemed right again.

"How did you sleep?" He said. He was trying to make conversation. Even though they were technically back together, things were going to be different than before. They were basically starting from scratch.

"Amazing actually. I haven't slept like that since before we-" She stopped dead in her tracks. She was about to compare her sleep to their brutal breakup. Her gaze dropped to the bedsheets that lay under them. She didn't know what to say.

"Hey. Hey, violet look at me." He took her chin in his hand, tilting her head up slightly to meet his genuinely sympathetic gaze.

"It's okay. I know you had a hard time. If you need to talk about it, you know I'll listen. Now that we're back together I don't want to keep anything from each other. No more secrets. Okay?"

"Okay." She said lightly. "But I don't think I'm going to take you up on that offer. I doubt you'll enjoy hearing me talk about how much I hated you when I found out what you did."

This time it was his gaze that dropped. "Yeah you know you're probably right. I know I said I understood why you hated me, but I don't think I could handle listening to you say those things to my face. It would break me. You can talk to me about anything else, though. I'm here for you always Violet."

"I know. Thanks, Tate." She was holding back tears. She didn't know where they came from, but after a few seconds she couldn't hold them back any longer. Her emotional floodgates came crashing open and before she knew it she was back to her old habits again. Crying and looking for any air she could find to give her lungs a reprieve.

"Tate I'm so sorry for what I put you through. I was selfish and stupid and-"

"You do not get to apologize, Violet. None of this is your fault. Okay? You can't blame this on anyone but me. I understand why you did what you did, and It's okay. All that matters is this. Right here and right now. We are together again. We are happy again. Aren't you happy, violet?"

"Yes. I'm so happy. There is nothing more I could ever want except you. I feel stupid for ever letting you go. I'll never leave you again. Promise me you'll never leave me. I don't know if I could handle it if we separated again."

"I swear I will never ever leave your side violet. As long as you want me, I will never leave. Not ever. I never wanted to in the first place, believe me. I was just doing what you wanted. I'll always do what you want Violet. Your the only thing I have ever cared about and loved in my afterlife."

Violet's smile was genuine. It was real, unlike the toothless grins she gave her parents when she was alive and depressed as ever.

She sat up and hopped out of bed. She had slept in her clothes and she was starting to get uncomfortable. She made her way to the closet and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She quickly changed into the new clothes and turned to face Tate.

"So, what do you want to do today?" He asked when she turned to look at him. He was curious to see what their first day back together was going to consist of, and he was trying to avoid any awkward silences.

Violet walked over to Tate who was sat upright in her bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her. She let her lips linger slightly over his, barely touching.

"This." She whispered before pressing her lips against his. His lips were slightly chapped, but she loved the feel of them on her own. She normally hated perfect, but in her mind Tate was her definition of perfect. Every odd or different thing about him was her favorite thing about him. His flaws attracted her, they always had. She felt like they were made for each other. Boy was cupid more fucked up than she thought. What a perfectly unperfect and fucked up relationship.

The minute they touched sparks flew through their bodies igniting a passion they both hadn't felt since the last time they were together. Tate smiled into the kiss. He had been waiting far too long for this day to come, and now that it was finally here he couldn't be happier. He placed his hand on her waist and pulled her into his lap. Once there, she shifted a few times to get comfortable before placing her hand over his chest to steady herself. His hands mimicked hers. One ended up on the small of her back, and the other cupped her cheek.

When they were together before, their kisses were always sweet, long, and loving because they had all the time in the world it seemed like. This time their kisses were fast and needy like they were in a rush to show each other how much they loved one another before time ran out. Truth be told she liked both, but these kisses let her know that she was what he wanted. What he _craved. _What he _needed_. It was ironic actually. That their kissing patterns were basically switched when it came to the amount of time they actually had. They didn't seem to care all that much though.

She slowly moved her hand up under his shirt to feel the soft skin of his stomach. Tate's mouth moved slowly from Violet's lips to her neck and started placing light kisses there. He knew she loved when he did that. She really loved where this was going, but when he started to pull at the hem of shirt she knew it was going to far. She knew he was trying to rid her of it, and even though she wanted nothing for to be rid of her shirt (and all her clothes for that matter) she wanted to stick to her previous plan of death sexual abstinence for now. _Haha._ Her conscience laughed at her for thinking she could go even one more day without ending up naked in bed next to him. She was determined to prove it wrong though.


	8. Taking it Slow

She didn't know how to just outright tell Tate to stop. The moment was heated and she knew Tate's intentions were different than hers. She slowly moved her hands up against his chest and stopped kissing him. She didn't want it to be awkward, so she didn't pull away. She kept her eyes shut and her lips just slightly hung over his. He did the same thing thinking It was just a pause to regain oxygen and then go back for round two. She wanted their second time to be special. In her opinion, the day after getting back together was not a very good time to hit third base. Yeah makeup sex was fun, but she was never that kind of girl.

After a couple seconds she could tell that Tate realized something was wrong.

"You okay?" He asked lightly.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just don't think we should... you know...go all the way just yet." Those words sounded much better when she had rehearsed them in her head a minute ago. She knew she provoked him. She had been the one to kiss him first. She felt stupid now that she wanted to stop.

"Vi, you do know we've already been 'all the way' once before...right?"

"No, I know that, I just mean that we barely got back together yesterday. I don't want to rush things. After all we literally have all the time in the world for that." She smiled lightly hoping it would reassure Tate. "Trust me I really want to. I just want to wait if that's okay."

"Of course Violet. We can take things as slow as you want. Okay? I want this to be perfect for you."

"Thanks."

They stayed together like that for a few more minutes. Violet rested her head on Tate's shoulder and his hands wrapped around violet's waist.

The room was dead silent. She sat and listened to Tate's steady breathing along with his pounding heartbeat. He was nervous. She didn't want him to be. "I could stay like this forever, you know. It's so peaceful and I feel safe when I'm in your arms like this." She whispered. She hoped this would reassure him. It did.

Tate pulled back causing Violet to raise her head from his shoulder. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and she did the same.

"I Love you Violet. You have no idea how much." He whispered. She hadn't heard him say that in so long. It made her smile and she tried as hard as she could to not freak out like a giddy schoolgirl.

She placed a kiss on his lips before getting off the bed. She didn't want to ruin the moment, but she feared that if she let it linger, she would lose control of herself and give in to him.

They spent the day doing things they normally did before she died. They played card games and listened to all their favorite bands. Talked about meaningless books and poets that they liked. They even wandered up into the attic to play with Beau for a couple of hours. Violet had always felt bad for him. The first time Tate officially introduced her to Beau, she could have sworn she felt a part of her heart literally breaking for him. It was so cruel to leave such a harmless person up in the attic chained up like an animal. It wasn't his fault that he was messed up, yet he had to pay the consequences. She felt sorry for him when she saw the look on his face as they were leaving. He looked so upset. It already sucked that she was stuck in this house with nothing to do. But beau was stuck in the attic with nothing but a red ball to amuse him. She praised him for putting up with that all these years.

It wasn't until about one in the morning that violet started to feel tired. Her and Tate had slept for so long the day before that she had a lot more energy than she normally did. They were laying in her bed staring at the ceiling and listening to her blaring Ipod when Tate gave her the good news.

"Hey guess what day tomorrow is?" He sounded excited like he had just remembered what day it was himself.

"Ummm...I stopped keeping track of the days like a year after I died Tate I'm surprised you even know."

"True, True. But really guess what day tomorrow is!"

"I don't know president's day?" She said starting to laugh.

"Nooooo. It's halloween. You know what that means?"

She darted up from where she was laying on the bed and looked at him, "Oh my god Tate we can leave! I totally forgot!" She sounded excited and Tate was happy that she was. He was worried that she wouldn't want to do anything like usual, but he was obviously wrong.

"Yup. And technically it's already the next day so we can leave if you want. That is if you're not tired." He said with a smirk on his face. He could tell that she was, but apparently that wasn't going to stop her.

"Are you kidding me? I don't want to waste another minute in this shit hole. Let's leave." She jumped out of bed before she even finished her sentence. She threw on her favorite purple leggings and multicolored sweater. She then laced up her high top converse and pulled her cardigan up over her shoulders. She quickly brushed through her honey blonde hair and splashed some water on her face in an attempt to wake herself up.

"I'm ready. Are you?" she seemed more than eager to get out of the house.

"Yes god violet just let me put my shoes on." He said laughing. He found it funny that just minutes ago she could have passed out and now she was up and ready for the day. He didn't blame her though. You'd be stupid to not go out on your one night of freedom.

After his shoes were on he stood up and followed violet out of the room. They stopped when they got to the front gate of the house.

"So. This is it." She set one foot out onto the sidewalk and waited a second. She took a breath and placed her other foot over the line too. A huge grin covered her face. She saw that Tate was already standing next to her.

"Well, that was easy for you." She said. He had walked out like it wasn't even a big deal. To her it was like christmas.

"When you've been stuck here for as long as I have, It gets less interesting as time goes on."

"True." She smiled at him.

"Wow it's so nice out." She said.

"It's one in the morning and freezing as hell violet what are you talking about?"

"Yeah I know it's just that it's nice that there's actually a breeze and the temperature finally dropped below 80 degrees for once. It reminds me of Boston. I like it."

"Well, halloween fell on a good day then." He said smiling at her.

"Yeah, yeah it did." She said.

He was eager to know what she had in mind for their one day of freedom. "So, where to first?"


	9. Halloween Part 1

Violet heard Tate's question, but she had no interest in responding. She was too mesmerized by the feel of her feet on the sidewalk..._outside_ of the murder house. She had been so wrapped up in her breakup with Tate that she had never left the house on halloween. Not once in all the years she had been dead. It wasn't exactly by choice, though. The first year she hadn't noticed because she was too busy crying her eyes out and drowning her sorrows with cigarettes and the most morose songs she could find on her Ipod. The next three years was when she had taken up drinking, so she was probably too busy being passed out on the gazebo bench in the backyard or getting over a nasty hangover to notice it was halloween. She didn't mind though. Her body had become so numb to emotion that she just flat out didn't care about anything anymore.

Everything was different now. Her and Tate were back together. All their problems seemed to just start melting away. The moment she fell into Tate's arms in the basement her heart had automatically started stitching itself back together. But, even though all the pieces were still there, she had to learn how to fit them back together. And even then, it would never be perfect again. When you cut too deep and have to get stitches, the wound eventually heals. But, there is always a reminder of when it was an open wound. There will always be a scar.

"Vi, are you listening? Violet?" Tate was staring directly at her but her mind was somewhere else.

She blinked a few times before realizing she still hadn't responded. "Sorry it's just...I haven't stepped foot outside the property since the day I died. It all just feels sort of surreal."

"You haven't left on halloween before? Not once?" He asked. He sounded surprised like he didn't know or something. She knew that he did. She knew that before they got back together he followed her around and watched her every move.

"No." She said coldly. After all, it kind of was his fault. She only did the things that made her forget halloween because of him. She only did them to get her mind off of him. The booze worked, but everything else just reminded her of things they used to do together.

"Oh. I figured you would have taken any opportunity you got to leave." He knew why she hadn't though. He had been by her side every time she drank too much. Even though in the back of his mind he knew she was dead and couldn't get hurt, he still worried that she would pass out.

"No, I was a little...preoccupied." She said. She knew this conversation could not go anywhere good, so she decided to change the subject before their only free day was ruined. "Anyways, I was thinking we could hit up the mall or something. Do our umm I don't know what to call them...gifts...work on halloween?" She knew this was a dumb question, but she wasn't sure and if she was going to ask anyone it would be him. He had always been a sort of expert when it came to ghost logic.

"Gifts?" He let out a small chuckle. "I'm guessing you mean can we still go unseen if we do so desire?" He started laughing harder now. He was mocking her with sophisticated slang. She hated when he did that.

She reached over and punched his arm in the most playful manner she could. "Stop being an ass. Yes that's what I meant."

"I know I was just messing with you. Yes our 'gifts' still work." His laughs were slowly dying off.

"Perfect." The grin on her face had 'I have an evil plan' written all over it. "How do you feel about I don't know...stealing?" Her grin turned into curiosity as she searched his face for an answer.

"Depends. What are we going to steal?" He obviously could care less what they did. If they broke the law who gave a fuck; they were ghosts. Last time he checked, laws didn't apply to the dead.

"Well, we need a lot of supplies. We have to go a whole year before we can restock so I was thinking we could get a bunch of random shit to keep us entertained, you know?" She sounded so giddy. Like she had never done something like this before and the idea had her jumping off the walls with anxiety.

"Yeah sounds like a plan. We could use some entertainment so why not. What are we stealing?" He liked the idea more than he showed, he just didn't want to show her the excitement. To him, that read 'mischievous 5th grader'. He preferred the 'Whatever, I don't give a fuck' facade. That was more Tate Langdon to him.

"Well at first I thought we could just steal all the stuff. But then I thought why take the fun out of shopping? So we should just steal the money and then have fun buying everything without the worry of getting caught and spending the rest of our day of freedom in a jail cell."

"You've got a point there. So, where or who are we going to steal money from. And how much did you have in mind?" He was liking this idea more and more.

"Well, a bank isn't really ideal. We would need security codes and all that shit, so why not break into someone's house? It's not like they can see us and there's gotta be some rich ass people within a few blocks. This is LA we're talking about."

"Yeah there's a guy that lives a few streets down from here that I used to go to school with. His dad was super rich so he probably got all of his money when he died."

"Okay first of all, how do you know he still lives there? And second of all, how do you know his dad died?" She was curious to know these things.

"Well his dad had cancer when I knew him, and it's been like 20 years so he is obviously dead. As for the house, It's just a wild guess. It's the nicest mansion in their entire block, why would he sell it?"

"True. Okay lead the way. Let's go steal some cash." She smiled and linked their arms together. She couldn't help but feel so free and alive. She thought of her and Tate as Bonnie and Clyde. Partners in crime. I mean they weren't going to kill anyone today, but they had killed people before. Sure the ones she had killed were already dead, but It still counted for something.

The walk there was anything but silent. They talked about trivial things like their favorite books and what she had in mind to steal. She had actually been quite excited when Tate asked her this. She had made a list earlier that year of what she wanted to get when she left the house that Halloween. This year she had decided she would not let herself forget to leave the house. She didn't need to remind herself though, because Tate ended up doing that for her. It wasn't in her original plans, but she wasn't complaining.

When they finally arrived violet's jaw literally dropped at the sight of the house that stood before them.

"_This_ is the house? Holy fuck these people are probably loaded Tate!" She sounded giddy again.

"Yeah this is it. How do you wanna get inside? Window or door?" He knew the window was the best option, but he wanted to see what violet would choose. He had never asked if she had done anything like this when she was a alive, but he had always assumed she had. She came off as the rebel type. If she chose window, she probably had pervious experience with break ins.

"Window." She said almost immediately. "Rich people never bother to check if their windows are locked. They're like mega insured. If stuff gets stolen they're basically making money. Plus, in a house like this, they probably can't remember how many windows they're even supposed to lock."

"Well it seems like you've got this all figured out. Done this before or something?" He was really curious to know if this was her first time or not.

She looked down slowly and took a breath before raising her head. "Uhm not high class like this, but yeah you could say i've done this before." She didn't look proud. He was just happy to be right, though. "Anyways enough about me, we're waisting precious time. Let's go."

They made their way to the back fence that stretched around the billion acres of land they had in their backyard. Tate hopped the fence like it was nothing. Like he could have done it in his sleep. Violet, on the other hand, wasn't really all that athletic. It took her twice as long to get over it than it took Tate.

"Little help here!" She half yelled to Tate. She was only about 10 feet up, but she didn't want to fall. Tate caught on and grabbed for her waist. He had to climb up the fence a little to reach where she was. They slowly worked their way back down together; somehow managing not to fall.

"You kind of suck at climbing fences." He laughed.

"Shut up." She retorted. "At least I didn't chicken out." This was true. Most girls Tate knew would never go near a fence if it meant they had to climb it.

They walked for what seemed like ages through shrubs and an orchard of trees. This seemed like a legit farm instead of a backyard. There were animals galore. They finally reached a window. It was the first one they saw that was sort of out of plain sight. Even though they could just turn invisible at the first sign of trouble, they agreed they wouldn't unless absolutely necessary. Why not make things fun? What could they say? They were total adrenaline junkies.

The window was a little too high up to climb through, so Tate wandered off further into the backyard to find something they could use to climb up. He returned a few minutes later with a couple pieces of wood. He stacked them up off the ground until a make shift stairwell was made. Violet went first. She seemed eager to get into the house. After the last of her body pulled through the window, Tate started to climb up too. Violet stood watch just in case someone decided to coincidentally wander inside of the room they were breaking into. He made it through pretty quick and let out a sigh.

"Well.." He whispered. "We're in."

"Wow this place is so nice." Violet said as she walked aimlessly around the room. They had ended up in the kitchen which was bigger than any kitchen violet had ever seen before.

"Two pantries? Really?" She said holding in a laugh.

"Come on. Let's go see if we can find an office. That's usually where a safe would be." he said.

"Ok."

They waltzed through the house like it was their own, not even taking the precaution of tiptoeing. They both didn't seem to really care. But violet knew that if it wasn't for the reassurance that they could disappear at any moment, her knees would be shaking and she would be projectile vomiting from fear of getting caught. They found an office after checking through about four different rooms. Turns out Tate was right; there was definitely a safe in there.

"How are we going to get into it? Don't we need like a code or something?" She asked nervously.

"Nah. I'll just pick the lock. I'm pretty good at it. Constance kept one of these in her room. How do you think I got the money for all my drugs." He smirked.

"Right, okay. I'm gonna look around...you just...pick the lock or whatever." He could tell she was slightly nervous. He shook the thought off though and got straight to work. It had to be at least 3 AM by now. Who ever lived here was obviously sleeping and he was a heavy one at that. They had made a lot of noise breaking in, and nobody had shown up yet. So, didn't bother trying to be quiet.

Violet didn't leave the room but continued her search through the drawers and cabinets that were lined up across the room from the safe. She dug through each one carefully.

"Holy shit Tate." Violet said. Tate turned around and padded across the room to see violet staring into one of the drawers. He braced himself for what he was about to find but was happily surprised when he saw what was actually there. Drugs. A lot of drugs in fact. Violet pulled one of the small bags from the drawer and held it up. She analyzed it for a second before putting it back in.

"We are so taking this." She said.

"_You_ are into drugs? I thought that wasn't your thing?" He asked.

"Are you kidding me? I've always wanted to try drugs. Now that I'm dead why the hell not? Don't you want to?"

"Sure I mean it's nothing special, but I guess it is something to do when your bored." He said.

"Tate there's like a shit ton of weed here, we could have such a good time!" She sounded like a little kid on christmas morning.

"Vi, are you okay? This is totally not like you?" He said chuckling to himself.

"Tate we are dead and we aren't getting any older. Why wouldn't we take this opportunity to have a little fun? We could use it. Now get back over there and finish picking the lock."

"Okay whatever you say." He laughed again. He was so amused with this side of violet. He had never seen it before. He liked it though, a lot.

The safe was cracked about ten minutes later. Violet walked over to Tate and they opened it together. Both of their eyes widened when they saw how much was there.

"There must be ten thousand dollars in there. Holy crap." She said. Her eyes were locked on the money.

"Go look for something we can put all this in so we can go." He said.

"Okay." She pulled her gaze from the money and made her way to the closet. She came back to his side with a black bag in hand. He threw all the money into it and made his way to the drawer full of drugs.

"What if your parents find all these drugs? Shouldn't we only take some?" He said.

"Hell no. They can't tell me what to do anymore. Plus have you noticed that they don't pay attention to me anymore? Come on it's fine, take it all." She said with a smirk. With that he emptied the contents of the drawer into the bag already filled with money. He zipped it up and threw it over his shoulder.

"Ready to go?" She said.

"Yeah...We have a lot of shopping ahead of us."


	10. Halloween Part 2

They walked quickly back to the murder house, hand in hand. When they arrived, they decided to put away the drugs and half of the money. They had more than enough for the day, so they decided to save half of it for next halloween so they wouldn't have to return to the house they had robbed. Violet also grabbed her satchel that she used to use for school to put the money in. It looked a lot less suspicious than the duffle bag they stole. They quickly hid the remaining money and drugs underneath a loose floorboard in their room, and headed back out.

By the time they arrived at the mall it was nearly 5 AM. The mall didn't open until 6, so they decided to stop at the liquor store first.

"I think we should go to Bogie's and stock up on alcohol and cigarettes first while we wait for the mall to open. By the time we drop all of it off and walk back it should be open. What do you think?" She asked.

"Yeah, do you know how to get there? I know it isn't far from here, but I've only been once."

"Yeah I used to walk there a lot after school. I could practically walk there with my eyes closed." She laughed.

"Okay then, lead the way. I can't wait for this restock. It's been a while since we had proper drinks in the house. And everyone's always fighting over cigarettes. I think they'll appreciate us restocking." He laughed.

"Yeah they better." She scoffed. "After all we are paying for it." She laughed.

"Yeah with our stolen money." He smirked.

"Shut up!" She laughed and punched his arm playfully.

They walked for about twenty minutes before arriving at Bogie's, Hollywood's local liquor store. They wasted no time before basically ransacking the shelves, scrounging up what seemed like every bottle of liquor and pack of cigarettes the store owned. They laughed and played as they ran up and down the isles showing each other exotic flavors of vodka they had never heard of before. By the time they were ready to check out, the whole store was basically empty. They had bought so much that everything came out to a grand total of $719.64. They knew it was a lot, but they had plenty of money and they were going to need all of the supplies to last them a year. Plus, they were having so much fun picking everything out that they got a little carried away.

They informed the store owner that they didn't have a car, so they would need a way to get everything they bought home. The man said he would lend them two carts to take the stuff home as long as they returned them within the hour. They accepted his offer, packed everything into the two carts, and headed back to the murder house once again. They barely talked the whole walk home. They mostly just laughed and ran while hopping on the medal bars of the carts so that they were no longer walking, but riding them like children. When they returned, they quickly stashed all their newly bought belongings and headed back to the mall which would open in 10 minutes. On their way there, they returned the carts and continued the rest of the way until arriving 5 minutes after opening. Perfect. Half of their shopping was done, and they couldn't be more excited to continue.

They decided to slow down a little so they could really enjoy the day. They went to every single store inside the mall. Even the one's they normally wouldn't bother with. They had lunch at each of their favorite places in the food court, and sat and talked for almost an hour after they had finished eating. It was so nice for them to finally have a good day. No tears or sorrows. No heartbreaks or sadness. There was only happiness and laughs. The smiles on their faces didn't leave for a second throughout the entire day. They both shut out all the bad memories. Every single thing that went wrong in their lives didn't matter. All negative thoughts were gone from their heads and for once they were clear. They could both think clearly. They both knew exactly what they wanted. They wanted to be together.

By the time they finished all their shopping, it was nearly 7 PM. They had spent a total of 13 straight hours at the mall; all filled with nothing but fun. They agreed that their day of fun was over for them, and decided to call it a night. Not before doing one more reckless thing, though.

"Okay we have more shopping bags and boxes than we know what to do with. Most of them are still on hold in all the stores. The mall closes in one hour and we have no way to get everything home. What the hell are we going to do?" She asked.

"Steal a car?" He laughed.

"Tate stop it, i'm being serious." She scoffed.

"So am I." He said in a more serious tone. She looked alarmed. She waited a second for him to say 'just kidding', laugh, and then tell her his real idea. He didn't though. He was dead serious.

"Okay." She said nervously. "I don't know how to drive, though. And how are we supposed to get the car started?"

"That's when our 'gifts' come in handy Violet. I'll just make myself disappear, steal car keys from someone's pocket, then we'll pack everything into the car, and i'll drive us home." He stated as if he had been planning this all day. Maybe he had?

"Sounds easy enough. Better hurry, though. People are starting to leave to go trick or treating. Pretty soon there won't be a very big selection of cars left." She said. But right as she finished her sentence he disappeared.

About 10 minutes later he came back. He walked up behind her and jingled the keys by her face.

"Got em'..." He smirked.

"Okay, let's go pick up all our stuff and get out of here. I haven't slept yet and I feel like I could pass out." She laughed lightly.

The drive home was short. Violet was impressed with how well Tate could drive. She didn't know he had ever even learned. Guess there was a lot she had to learn about him still.

"What are we going to do with the car?" She asked when they neared home.

"When we finish bringing everything inside we'll park it down the street and let the cops handle it." He said.

They brought everything up to their room and parked the car like Tate said they would, then proceeded to walk back to the house. They both changed into comfy clothes as soon as they got back to their room. She liked calling it that. 'Their' room. To be fair it technically was. He had it, and then she had it. It was theirs, and she was happy about that.

They laid down next to each other in bed; Violet's head resting on Tate's chest. It was pitch black and silent in the room. They were silent for some time before she spoke.

"I had a lot of fun today." She said smiling, even though he couldn't see.

"Me too." He said.

"Let's do it again next year." She said lightly.

"Okay."

Silence. Violet was almost asleep when he spoke again.

"Hey violet?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Happy Halloween."

"Happy Halloween, Tate."

"Hey Violet?"

"Yeah?" She replied.

"I Love you." He whispered.

"I Love you too."


	11. Author's Note 2

Hey guys just wanted to say I know that Halloween Part 2 was a sort of a fast and less detailed chapter. That was because it was more of a transition chapter. The next one I post Is going to go into more emotion with their relationship and personal lives so I wanted to do a quick chapter before that. Also, I will most likely be writing everything that they bought so that should be fun :) Hope you are enjoying so far :)


	12. Reasons behind death

Violet opened her eyes, slightly squinting at the sun beating down through the window. She inhaled deeply and stretched her arms over her head. She grabbed the watch off of the night stand to check the time; staring at it for a few seconds letting her eyes adjust from sleepily blurry to somewhat clear. It was 5:30. They had slept through the day and straight into the afternoon. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept that long. In the years after her and Tate's breakup, she was lucky if she got 10 hours a week. She tried to sleep, but she was too scared of what might creep up and haunt her in her dreams. She knew she shouldn't have been so afraid. After all, she wasn't afraid of anything, right?

Looking over at Tate, she could tell he was still dead asleep. He could literally sleep for hours if he wanted to, so she decided if she wanted to have any fun today it would be best to wake him up.

She leaned in close until her face was hovering right over his, then placed a slow, loving kiss to his lips. He didn't move. She reached her hand out and softly brushed the hair from his face and placed a kiss to his forehead. Then his cheek. Then his neck.

"Taaaate" She sighed into his neck.

Her hot breath on his skin woke him. He opened his eyes into tiny slits and looked around the room trying to process what was happening and where he was. Apparently he was in a deep sleep, because it took him a few seconds to figure things out before looking down at violet who had her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck. She was still placing soft, light pecks to the skin there.

She noticed he was awake and lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Good morning sleepy head." She said smiling. She leaned in again and placed a sweet, chaste kiss to his lips.

"What was that for?" He smiled.

"Nothing." She smiled back. "I'm just in a really good mood this afternoon."

"Afternoon? Did we really sleep that long?" He chuckled.

"Yeah and you would have slept through the night too if I hadn't woke you up. You can literally sleep for days."

"So, what are we going to do today?" He said, his voice still groggy from sleep.

She dodged the question completely. She had other things on her mind that she wished she didn't. "I like the way your voice sounds when you just wake up." She said.

He knew why she liked it. He had always heard girls at his school talk about how hot guys sounded when they first woke up. He wanted to just kiss her and go all the way with her right then and there. He wanted that more than anything. Her abstinence idea was starting to get on his nerves. He respected her reasons, but at the same time his want for her was getting stronger. The more they were together, the more he wanted her. He didn't know how long he would be able to control himself.

He quickly shifted his body so he was on top of her. Violet gasped at his movement and he could hear how fast she was breathing. She wanted it too. He pulled their bodies closer together and hovered his lips over hers.

"Please don't make me wait anymore, Violet." His gaze was fixed on her lips.

"Tate I-" She started but was quickly interrupted by his mouth against hers. She knew it wasn't wrong to kiss him, but she tried to keep her distance most of the time. She didn't want to become weak and give into him. She pulled away after letting herself enjoy it for a few seconds.

"Don't." She sighed and looked away. He could tell she was conflicted with herself, and she was. A part of her was saying '_You know you want to Violet. Just do it already_.' But another part of her was saying '_You can wait. Don't do anything you don't want to do. Wait until your ready_.' Her two sides were really starting to go to war with each other lately.

"I'm sorry. I just can't help myself Violet." He said sympathetically. He really did feel bad. He grabbed her chin in his hand and slowly moved her head so she was facing him again. "Violet look at me."

She took a breath before speaking. "I'm sorry that I'm torturing you like this Tate, but I'm just...not ready yet. If it makes you feel any better, it's hard for me to control myself too. It's not like I don't want it because believe me I do." her tone lightened and she spoke again looking at him seductively. "I'm planning on putting that alcohol to use pretty soon, though. Who knows what drunk violet will want." She smirked.

That was all the reassurance he needed. He smiled and kissed her again softly before rolling back over to his side of the bed.

They spent the next few hours laying in bed listening to one of her playlists. She wasn't ready to get out of bed yet, but she was really craving a cigarette. She decided to make her trip to their new stash more fun.

"Hey, Tate." She said.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked looking up at her.

"Let's go sort through everything we bought. We need a new hiding spot for it. I don't want the others to find any of it." She laughed.

"Okay." He said.

They got up and made their way to the attic. They had kept everything up there because the other ghosts rarely went near that dusty room. Probably because they didn't find beau to be particularly good company.

Violet pulled the string to the attic stairs and watched them fall into perfect steps. She went first, and Tate followed closely behind her.

"Where did you put everything?" She asked.

"In the back corner. The sun never hits it so no one would ever notice we hid anything there. Plus there was plenty of space to fit everything." He replied.

She nodded and headed towards the corner with Tate just behind her. They sat criss cross on the floor opposite each other with all of their new things resting on the cold floor between them. She hadn't really payed much attention to how much they were buying in the moment, but now looking at everything she could tell they went a little crazy. She stared out into the pile of stuff and her eyes hovered over each thing, inspecting what they bought.

4 bottles of vodka, 3 bottles of whiskey, 3 bottles of gin, 2 bottles of tequila, 4 bottles of bourbon, 4 bottles of wine, 8 beers, 15 packs of cigarettes, an 8 pack of lighters, 3 six packs of sodas, 10 bags of chips, 4 eight packs of waters, 6 candy bars, 5 packs of gum, a new deck of cards, some board games, a new speaker to play her ipod, and some clothes.

Violet had found an interesting new store in the mall that she figured must have been put in after she died. She bought a few sweaters, some pairs of leggings, and some big night t- shirts from there. Tate had also invested in some new jumpers and cardigans from the store across from the one she found.

Violet reached out and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the pile, pulled one out, and lit it. She took a long drag and blew the smoke out through her nose like a dragon.

"It's been a while since I've smoked. At least a few days." She said looking at him.

There was silence for a minute. She could tell that Tate was itching to say something. She was going to ask, but then he spoke.

"Why do you still smoke?" Tate asked, breaking their chain of silence.

"What do you mean?" She knew what he meant. She just felt like dragging on the conversation for no particular reason.

"I mean...why do you still smoke cigarettes even though your dead. It has no effect anymore."

She wasn't sure why he was asking her this. "You really want to know?"

"Yeah." He said looking over at her.

She hesitated. She moved from her sitting position to lean her back against the wall behind her. She sighed and looked at him. "I still smoke because that's how I wanted to die." She took her eyes off of him and dropped her gaze to the floor.

"That's how I thought I would die, at least." She paused for a second and started up again.

"I started smoking to leave my parents a message that apparently they never received.

…...

The message was...I want to die.

…...

Slowly, though, so that they would notice I was going downhill.

…...

Then they would start to care about me again. Start to ask me how my day was or what I wanted for dinner.

…...

They wouldn't be huge changes to other people, but to me they would mean the world. It would have meant everything to me if they just noticed me.

…...

It would be too late to save me, but at least it would have worked.

…...

My plan for them to love me when I died would have work.

…...

And when I died they would be sad that I was gone and they would cry all the time.

…...

They would put pictures of me smiling up all around their house so they could remember me when I was happy.

…...

Because when I was happy, I was loved.

…...

I still smoke because it makes me feel Alive.

…...

It makes me feel like I'm not dead and can still die. I can still get them to love me like they once did.

…...

I like that feeling. A lot." She looked like she was almost about to cry. He felt bad. He hadn't known any of those things about her.

"Sorry." She said lightly, fighting back tears. She hadn't meant for her explanation to be that deep.

"No i'm sorry." He had no other words.

"For what?" Her gaze made it's way back to his.

"For everything." He said. "For not saving you. For making you scared. For making you so scared of me that you wanted to die."

"I didn't want to die, Tate."

"Then why did you take the pills?" He asked.

"Because I was stupid. Because I was too naïve to realize that I wasn't just taking them to sleep." She was full on crying now, trying her best to talk between tears. "That's really all I wanted to do, Tate." She said, now looking at him. "I thought that if I could just sleep for a little while, then I could wake up and everything would be fixed. Everything would be right again and everything that I thought I knew before was just one big dream. One big nightmare." Her gaze dropped again. She wasn't sobbing now, but tears were still falling down her pale cheeks.

He stood up from the floor and made his way over to her. He sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She was quick to respond. She made herself comfortable, nuzzling her head onto his chest. "Violet I can't tell you how sorry I am. I had no idea that things with your parents were so bad. I wish there was something I could have done to help you. I really do."

"No one could help me. No one could help them. They were too far gone and I was too screwed up to realize that was the reality. That I was never getting my parents back and they didn't want me. They didn't love me."

"Violet your talking crazy." He whispered softly into her hair. "They loved you and they still do. They just had issues they needed to sort through."

"Yeah. If what you mean by issues is having your husband cheat on you with a college whore that's only a few years older than your daughter, then I guess they did have some issues to sort through." She scoffed.

"You know what I meant violet." He said lightly.

She pulled away from his embrace slowly and wiped her eyes with her wrists. She got up and made her way to the pile of alcohol. "I need a drink." She said casually.

"Hey I know a game we can play. I need to get my mind off of all this family bullshit and I also need to get drunk. So what do you say, how bout a game of never have I ever?"


End file.
